April+Roe


 * SUMMARY: "April," age 17, died of shock August 22, 1971 during a saline abortion being performed in a New York hospital.**

"April" is one of the women Life Dynamics identifies on their "[|Blackmun Wall]" as having been killed by a [|safe and legal abortion].

April was 17 years old when she underwent a [|saline abortion] in New York City on August 20, 1971, taking advantage of New York's liberalization of abortion law.

A saline abortion works by injecting a strong sterile salt solution into the amniotic fluid. As the fetus inhales and swallows the fluid, it causes massive internal hemorrhaging and death. This triggers labor.

April's doctor injected her with the saline but rather than keeping her in a hospital for medical supervision during the risky procedure, he discharged her.

The next day she was admitted to a hospital. She was in shock, with a high fever. She was treated there until her death on August 22.

The 1970 liberalization of abortion had made New York an abortion mecca until the // Roe vs. Wade // Supreme Court ruling that abortionists could legally set up shop in any state of the union. In addition to "April," these are the women I know of who had the dubious benefit of dying from the newfangled safe-and-legal kind of abortion in pre- // Roe // New York:


 * Pearl Schwier, July, 1970, cardiac arrest during abortion
 * Carmen Rodriguez, July, 1970, salt solution intended to kill the fetus accidentally injected into her bloodstream
 * Barbara Riley, July, 1970, sickle-cell crisis triggered by abortion recommended by doctor due to her sickle cell disease
 * "Amanda" Roe, September, 1970, sent back to her home in Indiana with an untreated hole poked in her uterus
 * Maria Ortega, October, 1970, fetus shoved through her uterus into her pelvic cavity then left there
 * "Kimberly" Roe, December, 1970, cardiac arrest during abortion
 * "Amy" Roe, January, 1971, massive pulmonary embolism
 * "Andrea" Roe, January, 1971, overwhelming infection
 * "Sandra" Roe, April, 1971, committed suicide due to post-abortion remorse
 * "Anita" Roe, May, 1971, bled to death in her home during process of outpatient saline abortion
 * Margaret Smith, June, 1971, hemorrhage from multiple lacerations during outpatient hysterotomy abortion
 * "Annie" Roe, June, 1971, cardiac arrest during anesthesia
 * "Audrey" Roe, July, 1971, cardiac arrest during abortion
 * "Vicki" Roe, August, 1971, post-abortion infection
 * "Barbara" Roe, September, 1971, cardiac arrest after saline injection for abortion
 * "Tammy" Roe, October, 1971, massive post-abortion infection
 * Carole Schaner, October, 1971, hemorrhage from multiple lacerations during outpatient hysterotomy abortion
 * "Beth" Roe, December, 1971, saline injection meant to kill fetus accidentally injected into her bloodstream
 * "Roseann" Roe, February, 1971, vomiting with seizures causing pneumonia after saline abortion
 * "Connie" Roe, March, 1972, cardiac arrest during abortion
 * "Julie" Roe, April, 1972, holes torn in her uterus and bowel
 * "Robin" Roe, May, 1972, lingering abortion complications
 * "Roxanne" Roe, May, 1972, given overdose of abortion sedatives
 * "Danielle" Roe, May, 1972, air in her bloodstream

We can see that starting in the 1940s, while abortion was still illegal, there was a massive drop in maternal mortality from abortion. The death toll fell from 1,407 in 1940, to 744 in 1945, to 263 in 1950. Most researches attribute this plunge to the development of blood transfusion techniques and the introduction of antibiotics. And as you can see from the graph below, the fall in abortion deaths was in place long before legalization. Legalization did nothing to change the number of deaths each year; the trend had been in place for decades. Learn more [|here]. 

LDI Sources: "Maternal Mortality Associated With Legal Abortion in New York State: Jul. 1, 1970 - Jun. 30, 1972,Á± Berger, Tietze, Pakter, Katz, Obstetrics and Gynecology, 43:3, March 1974, 321

Tentative ID FG# 51332272

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